


Electrify: Epilogue

by FictionQuxxn



Series: Potentials [4]
Category: The Witcher (TV), Wiedźmin | The Witcher (Video Game), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types, Wiedźmin | The Witcher Series - Andrzej Sapkowski
Genre: Emotional Geralt, Epilogue, F/M, Feelings, Fever Dreams, Fluff and Angst, Hallucinations, I Wrote This During The Day!, Jaskier the Cockblock, Love Confessions, Sad Jaskier | Dandelion, Sad Reader, THE END OF AN ERA D:, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings, are you proud
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-12
Updated: 2020-05-12
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:06:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24147865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FictionQuxxn/pseuds/FictionQuxxn
Summary: The warmth reached him first, the gentle pressure of sunlight dragging across his body and face. Then came the feeling of a soft breeze ruffling the hair laying loose about his head, the cool blades of grass crushed under his arms and tickling his skin. There was nothing quite like the scent of spring; fresh and bright, sharp with the essence of resilience and thick with the promise of the future.After all this time, Geralt has finally done what he swore never to do. Become attached, become emotional, become weak. But as he lies trapped in the throes of poison and fever and dreams, he can't find it within himself to feel all that guilty. Finally: things go right, Geralt gets his feelings organised, and he has made his choice.
Relationships: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Original Female Character(s), Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Reader
Series: Potentials [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1725880
Comments: 17
Kudos: 70





	Electrify: Epilogue

**Author's Note:**

> This is it, ladies gents and all those in between and either side. The epilogue and official ending of my Potentials series. It's been a blast, Ive loved every second of this journey and I hope you have too. Fingers crossed this is everything you wanted and you can stop hating me for all the shit I put our lovelies through.
> 
> I do hope you enjoy, all feedback is appreciated, and I hope some of you will stick around to see what I have in the works. For those who need some incentive, a Modern AU is underway for The Witcher, plussss I may or may not be branching into the Venom fandom... Watch this space my dudes!

The warmth reached him first, the gentle pressure of sunlight dragging across his body and face. Then came the feeling of a soft breeze ruffling the hair laying loose about his head, the cool blades of grass crushed under his arms and tickling his skin. There was nothing quite like the scent of spring; fresh and bright, sharp with the essence of resilience and thick with the promise of the future.

Geralt breathed deeply, revelling in the feeling of his chest expanding and his strong heart thundering on in the centre of it. Pealing giggles pulled him out of himself and he opened his eyes slowly, strangely at ease with the distant sound. He sat up and squinted very slightly against the bright sun, head and attention turning to the source of the noise some way away.

She was sat there in the grass with Jaskier laying on his back only a foot or so away. They both looked slightly older, slightly more worn by time but in all the ways that signalled a comfortable and fulfilled life: the faintest smile lines forming at their eyes, her hair was longer while Jaskier had the budding of stubble dusting his jaw, faces filled out from good food and a relaxed lifestyle. Her face was glowing, smile blinding as she looked down and smoothed her hand over the fabric of the dress that clung to her protruding stomach, the gleam of a silver wedding band catching the bright sunlight and bouncing it into his eyes.

Jaskier was supporting a child in the air above his chest, wiggling them from side to side and causing the high-pitched squeals of laughter which had initially caught Geralt’s attention. He found himself smiling, part amused and part wistful as the bard pretended to drop the toddler, only to throw them gently into the air and catch them safely against his chest.

His little rabbit tried to hide her smile as she presumably chided Jaskier for his recklessness, scooping up the still shrieking child and settling them into her lap. _A boy_ , he realised, drinking in the fluffy hair the exact colour of his mother’s and the striking sight of his eyes mirrored back at him, **_his_** _boy_. The toddler caught sight of him and let out an excited shout, wriggling in his mother’s lap and waving chubby fists in his direction.

Geralt was struck through as her eyes met his, soft and open and loving and he could read his name on her lips as she hoisted their son up against her chest and gently took his hand in her own to assist in his efforts to wave. Jaskier too began to wave, shoving himself up on his elbows with a big grin and a slightly flushed face. After a short pause Geralt pushed himself onto his feet and began to walk towards the idyllic picture his little family made, framed against the bright grass and wildflowers and rippling creek.

But even as they called him to them, waving and smiling, they seemed to stay at a constant distance. Close enough to see their faces and the joy and love in their eyes, far enough for the wind to steal the clarity of their voices. He sped up, smile slipping into a frown as he tried to reach them to no avail. Her smile began to fade too, their son’s face crumpling with tears while Jaskier looked confused and concerned as he turned to attend to the fussing toddler.

He was running now, breathing and pulse frantic as he called out for them, arm shooting forward to reach out as if his hand could close the distance and squeeze around hers, but the sky clouded over and turned grey and his family seemed to begin drifting away in response. The wind picked up as the warmth bled from the air and stinging drops of rain started to fall.

“ _Geralt-_ ”

Her voice was faint, trembling and insubstantial as they slid further and further from his reach, lost to him with seconds as the rain came down in a hazy sheet and left him cold and alone, sprinting after ghosts. Geralt dropped to his knees, eyes squeezed shut and hands buried in his hair as he tried to fight back the fiery panic that consumed his chest and rushed up through his neck to his head. They were gone, he had failed, they were all he had left-

**< > **

_“Geralt?”_

_He opened his eyes, throat burning and eyes aching as he desperately sifted through the murky colours and swirls for his little rabbit. Why hadn’t she come back for him? His lips parted to speak but he wheezed and coughed harshly instead, the air burning in his lungs like fire even as soft hands hurried to pull layers of blankets further up over his chest._

_“Hush, you’re still sick, don’t try to speak. I need you to drink this Geralt, we need to get you better.”_

_Geralt frowned even as he weakly gulped down small lungfuls of air. He was sick? Did he stay out in the rain too long? Where was Jaskier, where was his wife; and their son? There were tears in the strange woman’s voice and she sounded tense and tired, smelled harsh and angry yet dull and wrong. What was happening?_

_“Please, please drink it…”_

_It was only when a small cool hand cradled the back of his neck and lifted his heavy head did he realise that the rim of something had been placed against his lips, a temperate liquid lapping at them. His mouth cracked open accordingly and he fought the grating in his throat as he slowly swallowed the gradual trickles of the liquid. It tasted strong and bitter and he could only manage a few mouthfuls before his stomach roiled in protest. The bowl was ripped away as he heaved, a wet rag plastered to his forehead before those cold hands were back, stroking at his face and neck while that same soft voice soothed him._

_“I’m sorry, you did so well, shhhh it’s alright, I’m here I won’t leave you-”_

_He realised he had reached up and grabbed at the woman’s wrist, squeezing tight even as his convulsions eased and he sank back into the soft surface he was laid upon. A croaking noise cut the woman off and then her hand was placed over his, thumb stroking back and forth even as she leaned closer._

_“I didn’t hear you Geralt. Can you try again?”_

_“Where…?” His voice was rough and shot to hell, weak and gravelly so he swallowed thickly in an attempt to wet his blazing throat. “My wife- Where?” There was a thick silence and the dainty hand on his froze before slowly pulling away. The woman smelled like sloe and wet leaves now, and Geralt frowned instinctively. Something about it coming from her seemed wrong._

_“I… I’m not sure, but I promise to find out. Sleep now. I’ll check in on you later.”_

_He relaxed at the woman’s words, unconcerned that she had offered to stay yet was now changing her mind. She would find his wife, his friend, his family. He could rest now. So he closed his eyes against the mulch of patchy colours and embraced the cool blackness as his mind began to cloud over, absently noting the hurried footsteps and slam of the door only seconds later. Geralt sighed and allowed the fire to wash over him again, dragging him down into the darkness and the depths of unconsciousness._

**< > **

A faint tugging on his hair prompted him to pull his eyes open, heavy with the beginnings of sleep and the easy relaxation their bed offered. Slightly disgruntled at being disturbed from his light rest, Geralt tilted his head and sank his teeth none too gently into the soft flesh above his little rabbit’s breast. She squeaked and he hummed evenly, soothing the sting with his tongue as the pulling at his hair stopped.

“What was that for you brute?” He could tell she tried to sound outraged but without even looking up he knew a soft smile lingered on her lips as her nails trailed over the back of his neck.

“What d’you wake me up for you pest?” His voice was thick and soft, merging with a quiet groan as he shifted over her to lay more comfortably and nestle his head further against her chest. Her heart jackrabbited below his ear even as relaxed as she was, and he couldn’t help but smile. “Besides, you liked it.” He could practically hear her eyes roll but she wisely decided not to refute the statement.

“I’m sorry love, I was trying to be gentle,” she sighed, kissing the top of his head and her fingers drifted into his hair as the tugging started yet again. He looked up at her with a raised eyebrow, finding his bright amber reflected in her own gentle eyes. “Your little plait got all scruffy so I was redoing it.”

“Hm…” The grunt was deep and content, more of a purr than a noise of annoyance as he let his eyes close while he relaxed into the feeling. His little rabbit was forever doing little things in order to shower him with attention or touch or affection, and he had long ago learned to accept it with minimal fuss. Besides, he would never admit it but it soothed something deep inside him to have her be so tactile and shamelessly unafraid to broadcast her relationship with him as often as she could physically manage.

“Do you think Jaskier’s finally bored of wooing the many women in this fine establishment?” There was a slight pause- “Nevermind, he’s probably neck deep in ale and tits right this second.”

“We’re only missing the ale.” Geralt chuckled as she disengaged a hand to slap his shoulder, one of his shooting up to catch it and drag it round so he could press slow kisses along her wrist. She huffed playfully and spun her hand round to link her fingers with his and gently tug his knuckles up to her lips.

“Remind me why I love you again?”

“Couldn’t tell you if I tried.” It was a poor joke. He felt her frown against his fingers and then a small shift underneath him as she readjusted to gently push on his shoulders. He huffed but lifted himself up enough to look at her fully. Before he even had time to get a word out her lips were on his, small hands cupping his jaw as her thumbs brushed over his cheeks.

“Everything about you is perfect. You were made for me silly witcher, and I’m not letting you go anywhere.” Her eyes were soft and pure, and Geralt closed his own and leaned in to kiss her again in lieu of a verbal response. A warm sense of calm filled him, heating him up from the inside out as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her even closer. She sighed gently against his mouth but it tasted stale and ashy. Confused, he opened his eyes to find pale wrinkly skin and milky white eyes in the place of his little rabbit.

Geralt made to recoil but suddenly he couldn’t move, body stiff and breath frozen in his chest. Jannis reached up with an oily smile and pulled his eyelids closed as the warmth inside him began to bubble and burn through his veins, spreading along his limbs to his fingers and toes and filling the inside of his head. He floundered in the dark, body heavy and uncooperative and seemingly melting from the inside out. It burned and he could barely focus on the sudden yanking pressure in his torso, the faint voice that swum down through the darkness to meet him-

**< > **

_“Hello again… I know you can’t hear me, but perhaps this will help me feel better at least.” Jaskier’s sigh was quiet, accompanied by the soft rustle of hair as he ran his hands through it before dropping them back his lap. Geralt tried to speak but a weighty shroud weighed him down, made him motionless and silent as he was held just inches below the surface of consciousness. “I miss you. We- We all miss you. Roach keeps trying to stick her head through the window to check on you, the number of apples I’ve had to feed her to lure her away-!_

_“And_ she’s _been inconsolable… We both have, but I can’t let her see that. She’s under enough stress already so I’m trying my best to make it easier. I- I just need you to wake up Geralt… You left once already. I understand why you did it but that doesn’t make it any more forgivable. You left your friends Geralt, even though clearly you needed us. And we need you. She needs you… You need to heal from this, you need to wake up and go back to yelling at me and patting Roach and mooning at her._

_“You cannot die on me. Not- Not before we finish our adventures and I’ve finished composing enough ballads to last the ages and be revered as epics years from now. Not until I’ve convinced you to finally get drunk with me so we can terrorise some town and win every gwent card in sight-” There was a weak chuckle and a faint pat on his forearm which seemed to simultaneously rock him and pass right through to the bed below. “Come back to us old friend. Or I can’t promise you won’t find yourself hounded by a magical spitfire who will drag you back from the afterlife kicking and screaming.”_

_Hearing Jaskier begin to rise, Geralt struggled and kicked, trying to find anything that would let him pull his head above the current and find some way to let the bard know he could hear him, he knew he was needed, that he was trying to find a way back to them. But that hollow in his core had started to burn again and before he could be consumed by its blazing flames once more, the current picked up and swept him along, away into the dark and down down down…_

**< > **

His eyes opened slowly, trained unseeingly on the wooden ceiling for an indeterminate amount of time before the warmth at his hip and the soft breathing finally registered. Looking down he saw a messy head of hair slumped against his upper thigh, small puffs of air periodically washing across the edge of his stomach. She smelled like barren soil and warm water and wilting greenery; exhausted and stressed and weak. Without conscious thought he found his hand lifting from its spot on the blankets, thick fingers carefully brushing hair away from her sleeping face. Her eyebrows were drawn together, mouth pulled into a tight frown even as her heart beat at its usual pace and she breathed deeply. Geralt’s ghostly touch seemed to disturb her for she suddenly inhaled sharply, face falling into lines of confusion and slight irritation as she was gradually dragged further from sleep.

“Jaskier, leave me be-” She reached up to clumsily push his hand away but froze when her soft fingers brushed against the clawed scarring on his forearm, breathing stuttering and heartbeat jumping into high tempo. There was a short pause before she finally opened her eyes, blurred by sleep and disbelief as they quickly sought his out. “Geralt..?”

He could only nod, floored by the heat of her skin and the way her scent blossomed into notes of rich summer sunshine and a bouquet of flowers, the depth of those eyes being enhanced by the candlelight’s reflection dancing across them. She sat up quickly and jolted forward as if to throw herself at him but held back, instead scrambling to hold his larger hand in her two dainty ones staring wide-eyed at him all the while.

“Are you in pain? I can go and get you another potion, or some food, more blankets if you’re cold-”

“Water…” he croaked, wincing slightly when his voice broke and splintered like wood on the simple word. His hand was quickly dropped as she hurried to her feet, dashing across the bedroom and returning to the chair at his bedside with a wooden cup of fresh water. The water was gingerly pressed into that very hand and he was watched like a hawk as he raised it to his lips and took slow mouthfuls, swallowing thickly and painfully.

“How do you feel?” Her hands were clasped tight in her lap, face drawn and worried as she leaned a little closer to better examine his expression. Geralt took his time finishing the water, doing a mental evaluation of his body and noting the sharp ache in his joints and muscles, the lingering fog in his head, the tightness at his side just a few inches below his ribs, the faint burn of toxicity in his bloodstream.

“You gave me potions?” His voice was still rough and uneven but better than only seconds ago. She smiled in relief at the improvement before her face dropped back into its wan state as she replied.

“The wound just wouldn’t close… Your fever kept climbing and I didn’t think it was safe to use magic. I’m sorry, I gave you as many as I thought was safe-” It must have been the last of his supplies and more if he could still feel their faint fire even now.

“You don’t have to stay if I scare you.”

“What..?” Geralt gestured silently at his black eyes and the veins he could feel sluggishly pumping beneath them but she waved him off with an impatient exhale. “I’m not _scared_ Geralt, I’m worried that I did more damage. And speaking of damage-” Her scent turned spicy and sharp and he barely had time to be shocked before she had lifted a hand and brought it down viciously on his covered shin. “ _What in Melitele were you thinking?!_ Do you have a death wish? How did you even _begin_ to think that going after that witch on your own was a good idea? I was so terrified Geralt, there was nothing else I could have done without letting her in and I thought it had killed you- That _I_ had killed you!”

Sobs drowned the rest of her frantic words and he felt his heart squeeze painfully as she buried her face in her hands, body trembling as she cried. He grunted heavily as he planted his elbows into the sweet-smelling sheets and attempted to prop himself up but she had already flown forwards, face and hands wet with tears even as she firmly pushed him back into the pillows and pulled the blankets further over him.

“Stay still you idiot- You’ll open up your side and I’m not planning on stitching you up again-”

“I-” But she spoke over him, eyes watery but burning a hole in the sheets as she fussed and rearranged them, hands shaking and chest heaving.

“Just rest, I’ll get you some more salve and then see if Jaskier’s managed to make anything edible yet-”

“Little rabbit.” He took gentle hold of her wrists and she fell still, head lowered and breathing just too fast to be calm.

“Please don’t call me that…” She glanced up at Geralt’s confused silence, trying to blink the moisture from her eyes while her mouth drew into a harsh frown once more. “I don’t think your wife would appreciate it.”

“Wife?” She tugged against his hold but he held on stubbornly, gaze stuck to her face as he watched her become more and more frustrated. “I have no wife.”

“But you told me-” After a moment of thought she sagged slightly, now going limp and pliant so he seized the chance and gently tugged her back down into her chair. “You were hallucinating…”

“Hm.” He watched her mull over this, half amused and half confused as she calmed down and carefully wiped the wet from her cheeks. They sat in silence for a moment before she finally plucked up the courage to gently take his hand in hers once more. “How did you know?”

She knew what he meant at once. “Vetiver…” At his prompting hum she wet her lips and carried on. “You- You always smell of leather, horse and vetiver… But when you, she, hugged me… It wasn’t there. And your eyes are usually so kind, but I could tell they were empty...” Geralt was stunned by the feeling that took root in his chest somewhere under his heart but forced himself to stay level headed. He had time to analyse his emotions later.

“What happened to the relict?” Her face suddenly lit up with something similar to a smile but it was tighter and vindictive somehow. She rose and cross the room again to pick up a small leather pouch, bringing it back to his bedside and carefully tipping the contents out into her left hand. A copper amulet fell free, not unlike the one that had possessed him, covered in neat runes and markings that denoted strong spell work.

“I took me a while, but I managed to melt down your amulet into a new one and make some sort of containment spell. She’s trapped inside; it uses her own power to reinforce the cage and stop her seeping out and influencing anyone. I don’t think it will hold forever but we should have enough time to figure something more permanent out before we have to worry about her escaping.”

She sounded so proud and fierce and Geralt felt the small throb of heat in his chest as he soaked in her expression and certainty. He grazed his fingers over the surface of the copper ball and found it cool to the touch, not pulsing with energy but oddly charged with magic all the same. This time it felt friendly though, like a curious probe more than an invasive stab. It had his little rabbit written all over it.

“You did well.” _You’re amazing. You saved me, Jaskier, yourself. You didn’t need me._ All things he wanted to express but by the way her eyes darted to his and a soft smile curled her lips, he knew she somehow understood. Prompted by another tingle at his side, Geralt broke eye contact and slowly pulled himself up so he was half sat up against the pillows, waving off her exasperated protests even as she leaned back and discarded the amulet to accommodate him. He pulled back the blankets and found his torso bare aside from a thick band of wrapping circling his middle.

“Wait, let me unwrap it- If you start bleeding again I’m going to kill you myself witcher.” He fought back a wry smile and carefully sat up a little more to give her enough room. She methodically unwound the bandaging and ever so gently peeled the wet packing away from his wound to bare it to their eyes. The smell of herbs and honey was strong, traces of salve still staining his skin as well as some stray flakes of dried blood. The wound was slightly inflamed but had begun to scar, a fresh ropey pink line that curved from a point just shy of his navel round his side and stopping, from the feel of it, somewhere behind his kidneys on his back. “It looks so much better-”

“How long was I asleep?” He carefully prodded at the new scar tissue, feeling the slight throb as the tender flesh gave way under the pressure but held firm and refused to bleed.

“Over a week… I did exactly what your journal said in order to counteract the saliva but the cut kept reopening and I was scared you wouldn’t wake up…” He could tell she was mentally chastising herself and finding some way to blame his long recovery on some imagined shortcoming.

“I’m fine, thanks to you.” But she shook her head and took his hand in hers again, fingers softly tracing over the many marks littering his skin as she stared at the blankets.

“I nearly lost you… I _did_ lose you. You- You just left. And then I had you back and you nearly left me again. I know all of it was my fault, if you had just killed me from the start-”

“It wasn’t-”

“Please let me finish…” She sighed and he clenched his jaw shut, eyes narrowed and focused as she took another calming breath before continuing. “I can’t do it Geralt. I thought I could, but I was wrong. I can’t just let you leave. And Roach, and Jaskier- I need them just as much as I need you. And I understand if you don’t lo- Don’t feel- I know you can’t give up your life to stay here but I’m willing to do that to come with you. I can fight and use magic - I’ll get stronger - I can cook and brew and I’ll sell everything I own and buy armour and a horse, I’ll do anything, just please don’t leave me alone again…”

Silence filled the room and he couldn’t help but stare. His heart thundered in his chest and warmth flooded him from head to toe, the faintest of smiles settling on his face. She was open and vulnerable and scared and beautiful and suddenly everything felt right, felt whole, felt purposeful. All the pain and the anger and guilt and fear had led to this, the thing he had been running from since the very beginning. Geralt knew how witchers were supposed to think and feel and live and he didn’t give a fuck. He had someone who needed him just as much as he needed them, who _loved_ him just as much as he was starting to love her.

“I’m not going anywhere little rabbit… I need you too.”

Her head snapped up, eyes wide as her fingers gripped nearly painfully tight to his own. He had just opened his mouth to continue when suddenly she was on top of him in a flurry of hair and sheets and skirts, knees braced either side of his hips as she kept her weight off him, small hands on his face, eyes bright and sparkling only inches from his face.

“I love you, Geralt of Rivia. I just- I don’t expect anything from you, I know this won’t be _normal_ but I don’t care. It’ll be dangerous and tricky and downright terrifying at times but I trust you, and I want all of it as long as you’ll have me.”

Geralt smiled and hummed slightly, unsure how to begin translating his thoughts and feelings into words. She smiled back just as softly, understanding his silence and accepting it without question. There was a moment of charged quiet between them as they breathed each other’s air, drowning in equally beautiful pairs of eyes before either of them thought to make a move. He leaned in first but his little rabbit was quick to meet him, soft lips pressing gently to his in a kiss that conveyed relief and joy and trust and love more than it did passion and heat and want and expectation.

He gratefully lost himself in her; her warmth, her scent, her taste- It all culminated in the sense of belonging, the pull of spring and summer, the feel of home and adventure. His side ached and he could feel her trembling and he could feel strands of their hair catching on the dry skin of his lips but Geralt didn’t care. It was perfect, she was perfect, and he knew he would never deserve her. That wouldn’t stop him from trying until his dying breath.

They slowly pulled away, eyes closed and breathing slightly heavier than before. A giggle slipped out and he couldn’t help but crack a smile as she carried on laughing and bashfully hid her face in the crook of his neck. He shifted a hand to her lower back to gently lower her down against him, laying at his side but half on his uninjured side so she could wrap her arms around his middle and rest her head on his shoulder.

“I’ve dreamt about that for months…” She sounded slightly breathless still but she was beaming, trailing her fingers through the dark hair on his chest in little swirls. A soft hum was his agreement and question, eyes closing as his left hand settled on her back and his right rested on his bare stomach. “Much better than I imagined.”

“You’re welcome.” Geralt grinned to himself as she lightly smacked his chest and then settled down against him, their breathing gradually falling into synch as her heart jackrabbited against his ribcage. The room fell into a comfortable quiet as they basked in the other’s presence, both warm and blissful and oblivious to the world. Although in the span of only a few minutes everything had changed, Geralt could only find himself comforted by the difference. They had both fought like hell to finally end up here and nothing would ruin it for them.

_BANG!_

“Is the sourpuss awake yet, my soup’s getting- _Sweet Filavandrel!_ ”

“JASKIER!”

 _Well_ , Geralt mused with a grin while Jaskier spluttered and squawked in the doorway, **_some_** _things never changed_.

**Author's Note:**

> FIN!
> 
> That is the conclusion of our journey with Geralt and his little rabbit. Thank you so much for sticking with me, I only hope I was worthy of your time and bandwidth/data. If anyone is in the market for any one shots or requests (or even if you just want to have a chat), feel free to hit me with a message. All fandoms I'm happy to write for are listed at the bottom of my profile's bio.
> 
> I love you guys so much, thank you for all your support and encouragement, and remember to stay safe out there! <3


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